An adventure set in the lofty heights (and dangerous depths)of Hindu thought. Insider tips? Relax, dissolve your preconcieved notions & get chanting.And by the way, dont believe all that you hear! A rudimentary knowledge of Sanskrit, Tamil and a fleeting accquaintance with the puranas and other such texts might come in handy.
Wisdom takes courage.

When youth had danced its way to palsied age,
Scarce the chance to fill the years with good deeds more and more;
So while life still throbs, fix your mind on Nandi,
Into whose spreading locks
The holy waters of Ganga eternally pour. I.4.3.179

Com
– When youth had danced its way to
palsied age, when one’s youth has waned bit by bit over the years and has
diminished totally Scarce the chance to
fill the years with good deeds more and more; resulting in old age (with
its disabilities and weakness) and in this stage in one’s life it is very
difficult (almost impossible) to undertake the performance of various
meritorious actions (like intense tapas and other austerities). So while life still throbs, Hence when
this life is still connected to a healthy and vital body fix your mind on Nandi, Into whose spreading locks The holy waters of
Ganga eternally pour. One must undertake every effort to meditate on the
Lord, who is all encompassing and into whose matted locks the holy Ganga flows
on her descent from the heavens and merges in the vastness of His form.

*The sage urges everyone to take steps towards
attaining union with the supreme siva while still possessed of youth and good
health.

Friday, July 26, 2013

srigurubhyO namahA |
Keeping with the same theme of the transience of youth, the sage declares that even if the ignorant were blessed with extraordinary life span, they would waste the years in delusion and still be unable to know the true principle that is the source of all.

The
years roll; but none the Lord in his bosom holds;
None to probe and perceive Him profound;
Even if Time's thread be to the utmost stretched,
Still they know not the spark that kindles all the lamps around.I.4.2.178

Com
- The years roll; numerous years
have been spent in ignorance but none
the Lord in his bosom holds; None to probe and perceive Him profound; there
are hardly any who are able to seek out the supreme, the source of all life and
merge it within their hearts and bask in the effulgence of the akhanda oLi (eternal Light) and thus
cultivate their spiritual wealth/ higher intelligence. Even if Time's thread be to the utmost stretched, even if they
(i.e. the people of the world) were given the rare boon of having an
extraordinarily long life lasting centuries on this worldly plane Still they know not the spark that kindles
all the lamps around. They would not be able to realise the supreme lord,
who is like the risen wick of the lamp that kindles light.

*The
term ‘தூண்டுவிளக்கின்’ or the spark that kindles refers here to the process
of sAdhanA or the spiritual
process/actions. The fact that the supreme truth (Lord) is experienced through
the carefully kindled and cultivated fire of sAdhanA is illustrated by the sage’s choice of words. Here, we need
to understand that by the word sAdhanA
we mean those spiritual processes/ techniques that are characterised by the
individual aspirant’s dedicated and conscious effort to attain to the supreme.
Though the body of the lamp, the wick, the ghee/oil, the flame, are all part of
the lamp; the actual process of kindling the wick is what is mainly responsible
for increasing the illumination/light. In a similar vein, the aspirant should
engage in constant effort to attain knowledge of the self. Coupling this with
the first half of the verse we will arrive at the following meaning – That
before the years roll on by and before one’s youth and strength are lost to
disease and old age, one must seek the right method through which to attain the
supreme Lord and be established in His effulgence.